Nutritional Remedies to Combat The Gastrointestinal Parasitism in Organic Dairy Farming

Nutritional Remedies to Combat The Gastrointestinal Parasitism in Organic Dairy Farming

Jadhao¹ G.M.  and Kedare² Gopal

Department of Animal Nutrition

1 – Assistant Professor ©,Veterinary College, Bidar (KA).

2- Ph.D Scholar, N.D.R.I, Karnal

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India is the largest producer of milk in the world. Now a days demand for organic food products is increasing very rapidly throughout the world and people are ready to pay higher amount for organic products .This is the best opportunity to farmers and milk producers for gaining higher price to milk as price of milk is not  much high compared to production cost and this remains an issue always. While considering the profit we have to also take efforts for reducing the production cost. For this we have to reduce the expenditure on medications like dewormers and have to increase the efficiency of utilization of feed. Also it is necessary to find alternative to synthetic dewormers for organic dairy farming. Nutritional management plays a key role for the above mentioned things.

Environment, malnutrition or parasitic diseases and sometimes both together can limit production efficiency. The cost of feed has long been recognized as the major and the largest cash expense in animal production. It has a direct impact on the growth rate and health status of the animal as well as on the animal’s product quality. Health is most important factor in animal production system. A healthy animal ensure the proper assimilation and absorption of nutrients. Provide the resistance against the diseases. Also healthy animal ensures the proper growth rate in animals. If the health of the animal is compromised though the animal is getting good amount of diet it will not of any use.

Gastrointestinal parasites affect not only health but also affect the productive and reproductive performance .Considerable losses in milk production in cattle and buffalo.  Climates, nutritional deficiency, grazing habits, immunological status and pasture management are predisposing factors. Effective functionality (digestion and absorption of feed) and immune status of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) are important factors in determining animal performance.Major pathogenic gastrointestinal helminthic parasites of ruminants found in abomasum, small intestine and large intestine. Ruminants acquire the infective form of the gastrointestinal parasites while feeding.Parasites also reduces nutrient availability to the host through reduction in voluntary feed intake. There is reduction in the efficiency of absorbed nutrients. Leakage of plasma protein and partly due to increased mucoproteins production is observed. Sloughing of epithelial cells in to the alimentary tract takes place.In growing animals hypoproteinemia and nitrogen loss affects protein deposition. Due to loss of protein, availability of AA for body tissues reduce upto 30% .Reduction in feed intake, incomplete absorption of nutrients leads to decrease of nutrients for productive process. The intestinal protein, structural protein synthesis is increased and muscle, milk and wool protein synthesis are reduced.It has adverse effect on GI motility causing diarrhea, enhances the loss of   plasma protein, sodium and chloride with increase in potassium level thereby altering acid-base balance also leading to parasitic gastroenteritis.

EFFECTS OF NUTRITION ON PARASITES

Nutrition can influence the development of parasitism in three different ways

1. It increase the ability of the host to overcome the adverse consequences of parasitism
2. It increase the ability of the host to overcome the parasitism, growth  and persistence of the parasites population
3. It directly affect the parasite through the ingestion of natural anti-parasitical compounds

NUTRITIONAL STRATEGY TO OVERCOME THE GIT PARASITISM IN ANIMALS. 

• Colostrum provides passive immunity to young ones to fight against gastrointestinal parasitism.
• Supplementation of quality protein is effective. Studies showed, effects of nutrition to the immunity are based on the Metabolisable protein, because many of the immune system components are proteins in nature like immunoglobulins and mucoproteins
• Supplementation of bypass protein: – Bypass protein escapes ruminal microbial degradation – UDP.Passes intact to the lower digestive tract. Digested and absorbed in lower GIT (Abomasum).Provide dietary protein & amino acid directly to the host. Higher quality. Improve performance of livestock.Ruminants supplemented by-pass protein increases resistance to gastrointestinal infection due to increase in the availability of amino acid in the intestine
• Macro and micro minerals: – Certain minerals (P, Mo, Zn and Se) have shown better reduction of larval stages and egg per gram count.
• Use of Tannins Containing Tropical Trees –Use of tannin containing plants in the ration of dairy animals have shown reduction in the gastrointestinal parasitism .Some of tropical tannin containing trees are Gliricidia sepium, Ficus bengalensis, Ficus infectoria, Ficus glomerata, Leucaena leucocephala, Quercus floribunda

• Mechanism of Condensed Tannins (CT)

Toxic to Adult Worms or Larvae

• Interact with the cuticle, oral cavity, esophagus, cloaca and vulva of nematodes, changing their chemical and physical properties.
• Reduce GI parasites by reducing nematode female fecundity and hatching ability of eggs.
• Decrease GIN metabolism through inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation, causing larval death.
• CT extracted from pedunculatous and L. corniculatous shows inhibitory effect on eggs hatching and larval development of GIN in sheep.
• Reduced Egg Viability in Faeces.
• CT are not absorbed in the digestive tract. React directly with cuticle of larvae in the faecal pellet.

Disrupt the life cycle of GINs

          1) Preventing eggs hatching.

2) Preventing 3^rd stage larval development (infective).

3) Direct killing of adults.

• Reduced faecal egg count (FEC): reduced fecundity, killing of adult worms.                      

Indirect Effect of CT

• CT increases resistance against GI parasites by increasing tissue protein supply

• High quality protein increases the immune response and resistance to GIN
• Feeding of CT decreases urinary Nitrogen (N) excretion and increases N retention.

                                                                                                                                                                            Voluntary Feed Intake

• Palatability of browse species is closely related to the concentration of tannins.
• Inverse relationship between the higher concentration of tannins in leaves and the levels of feed intake by animals.

FEEDING MANAGEMENT

Principles of pasture management for animal health

• Maintain proper forage height. Parasites found to be on lower portion of stem comparative to areal part of forages.
• Maintain some clean grazing areas.
• Maintain proper stocking rate.
• Use multispecies grazing.
• Offer diverse forage and browse.
• Use rotational grazing with long rest period.
• Regular burning of old or grazed pasture to obtain parasites free pasture land.
• Overstocking leads to higher concentration of parasites.
• Optimum animals to graze in a given piece of land.
• Use of paddocks and frequently moving the livestock from one paddock to another
• Grazing dried grass minimizes risk of infection.
• Zero grazing
• Zero grazing means keeping the animal in captivity to reduce the parasitic load.
• During confinement the animal should be fed off the ground in feeders and watering containers should be kept free from faecal matter.

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